Katherine Bernard (KB) Olsen is a never-mo (never Mormon) — but also one of the most devoted fans of Mormon Stories Podcast. A queer, secular journalist with deep Jewish roots and a high-fashion pedigree, Katherine has spent over 20 years captivated by the LDS Church — despite never being religious herself. In her first-ever full-length interview about her life story, she opens up about her lifelong curiosity with Mormonism, identity, belief, and American culture.
KB’s impressive journalism career includes work at Vogue, New York Times, and other top-tier New York publications. After moving from Maryland to attend NYU for Journalism, she found herself drawn not only to art and culture — but also to spirituality, history, and the paradoxes of organized religion. Over the years, her interest in Mormonism became a deep and serious intellectual pursuit.
What You’ll Hear in This Interview:
-Her upbringing in a secular household in Maryland
-Her exploration of Jewish identity and eventual conversion
-Her first exposure to Mormonism through South Park, Big Love, and The Book of Mormon musical
-Her emotional journey coming out as gay in a non-supportive environment
-Her reflections on shame, logic, identity, and community
-Her nuanced take on Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon, and Mormon reality TV
-Her insights into conditioning, religious extremism, and spiritual seeking
This episode is a masterclass in curiosity — how someone with no personal ties to the LDS Church became one of its most thoughtful outside observers. KB explores Mormonism not as a critic or a believer, but as a seeker with a journalist’s eye.
One Response
I loved this interview! About a third the way through KB started exploring why she found it so fascinating to listen to Mormon stories and it clicked for me why, even though I have been out of the church almost 20 years, I find these stories so fascinating. It is not about me questioning my own position or not being able to move on with my own life and leave Mormonism alone, but rather about seeing the vulnerability of human nature in others. It is fascinating to hear the stories of people who become self-aware and break out of a religious belief system that they had earlier been convinced was the one right way to think. It is about how they face the challenges of living a secular life without the support provided previously by a supportive religion. Some of us constantly are revising our identities and views of the world. To get such honest stories from others of their processes helps us to see our own vulnerabilities, to accept the tentativeness of life, and to celebrate the vulnerable steps and stories of others. Thanks KB for providing me with an answer for why I still listen to Mormon Stories. It isn’t because I doubt my choices or that I still want to reconnect with Mormonism or that I can’t leave it alone, but rather because I’m fascinated with the human processes and developmental processes of our individual self-journeys. What Mormon Stories does here and the willingness of former Mormons to vulnerably share their stories provides a constant supply of unique, honest stories of other’s life journeys, which is fascinating insight into very human stories. What a beautiful gift to those of us who love to hear such authenticity in all its various forms!